Knights of Columbus Insurance Program Passes $90 Billion Mark

SAMEEA KAMAL, skamal@courant.comThe Hartford Courant

The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal benefits organization founded in 1882 and headquartered in New Haven, issued more than $90 billion of insurance as of June, more than double the amount when CEO Carl Anderson took over in 2000.

The insurance branch, which began as a "pass-the-hat" benefit program, according to the nonprofit, has more than $19.8 billion in assets and ranks among the Fortune 1000 list of America's largest companies. It offers permanent and term life insurance, disability income insurance, annuities, and long-term care programs to members and their immediate families.

The group insures about 1.2 million of its members and their families nationwide.

"Protecting the financial viability of Catholic families has been important to the Knights since our founding, and the milestone of $90 billion in coverage means that we are meeting the needs of more families than ever," said Anderson, who holds the title Supreme Knight.

Joseph Cullen, senior communications specialist for the company, attributed the growth to its low lapse rate of 3.5 percent, along with a A++ rating by A.M. Best, which rates and runs credit analysis of insurance companies.

As a fraternal benefit society, the Knights of Columbus directs some of its proceeds to fund charitable projects and supports the charitable work of its approximately 15,000 local councils around the country.